OREANDA-NEWS. US President Joe Biden's conversation with Russian leader Vladimir Putin should focus on sanctions rather than the military might of the United States. The chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, Adam Smith, said this, Defense news magazine reported.

"There's no need to hold him back by trying to play with his muscles and convince him that we're going to confront them militarily and defeat them in Eastern Europe," Smith said. As the congressman explained, Putin needs to show that the United States has strong allies who can make him "pay an economically high price".

Putin and Biden will have a telephone conversation on December 7. According to presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov, "the presidents will decide" what time the talks will start and how long they will last. He added that they are scheduled for the evening.

Biden plans to discuss bilateral relations, cybersecurity and regional issues. "Biden will highlight US concerns about Russian military activity on the border with Ukraine,"- White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said.

Peskov also reported that the presidents were going to discuss the situation in Ukraine. The presidential press secretary said that one of the topics would be "what for us are the provocative actions of NATO armed forces near our borders".